Spinning table assembly



Sept- 1963 w. A. HUNTER 3,102,310

SPINNING TABLE ASSEMBLY Original Filed March 16, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 125 20 92 234 1 40 INVENTOR. 1 81 Z34 WILLIAM A. Hum-r52 1 80 44 BY [ll72 i ii 74 m 1 4 I ATTY, k

Sept. 3, 1963 Original Filed W. A. HUNTER SPINNING TABLE ASSEMBLY March16, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I32 \I4Z 6 6 I22 -l4o Z 224 222 174 I'll I74In" I58 1 t I60 I66 INVENTOR. I92 WILUAM A.|-lu--rsR By M Sept. 1963 w.A. HUNTER 3,102,310

SPINNING TABLE ASSEMBLY Original Filed March 16, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ia ii/14s 120 I26 I22 I24 22 28 I I WW I r J V i I85 INVENTOR.

ISZ WILLIAM A. HUNTER BY 2 2 .flask from the spinning table. evercapable of other uses and flask ramming operations utilizing themechanism of the present invention may be 3,102,310 SPINNING TABLEASSEMBLY William A. Hunter, Morton Grove, 111., assignor to F'etti honeMulliken Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation ofDelaware r 3Original applicationMar. 16, 1M0, Ser. No. 15,285, now Patent No.3,061,899, dated Nome, 1962.. Divided and this appiication June 29,1960, Ser. No. 39,634 v1 Claim. (CI. 22-47) r "The presentinventionrelates to apparatus for producing sand molds and has particularreference to the centrifugal casting of metals in the productionoftubular articles such as pipe sections and, the like. Specifically;the invention is concerned with automatic means for handling flaskswduring mold forming operations at a foundry ramming station.

I flask handling and mold forming instrumentalities which comprise thepresent invention have been designed for use primarily in connectionwith the handling of flasks from the ramming station. From the time agiven flask is deliveredto the spinning table until the time that therammed flask is removed from the table, the mechanism of thepresentinvention operates to ceniter the flask upon United 1 states Patent fFIG. 1;

the spinning table, to introduce into. the flask an upper core patternand a lower base pattern in proper alignmold cavity; and to performupper core and base pattern mentfwith the flask, to perform the spinningoperation 1 while controlling the ramming of sandinto the rotating drawoperations preparatory to removal of the rammed I The invention ishowcarried out independently of its association with any specific flaskhandling apparatus.

It is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide anovel spinning table assembly designed for use at a ramming stationinthe manner briefly outlined above and including a rotary spinningtable proper having means associated therewith whereby, in addition tobeing mounted for rotation about a vertical axis in the usual manner ofoperation of such spinning tables, it also capableof vertical shiftingmoverne'nt so that a pattern base carried thereby may be brought intoand removed from operative register with successive flasks which aremaintained in' operative positions of vertical register with t thetable. x l

Another andequally important'object of the invention is to provide anovel association of a spinning table and I lift carriage to the endthat automatic centering operations may be performedon the upper end ofsuccessive flasks positioned on the spinning table, as well as to theend that" automatic pattern or mandrel introduction and pat- I tern ormandrel draw operations, in connection with the upper end of suchflasks, may effectively be accomplished.

In short, itisa generalobject o f the invention to proin associationwith certain flask and mold transporting mechanism, will automaticallyand eifectively perform all of the necessary operations upon successiveflasks brought to produce the desired molds. n

.The flask handling and ramming mechanism of th vide a novel flaskhandling and treating mechanism which,

' to the ramming station incident to ramming of such flasks entinvention;

3,162,310 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 in my copending application Serial No.15,285, filed on March 16, 1960, for Method of and Apparatus forProducing Sand Molds, now Patent 3,061,899 granted Nov. 6, 1962, and ofwhich application the present one is a true division.

, Numerous ancillary object and advantages of the invention, not at thistime enumerated, will become readily apparent as the nature of theinvention is better understood.

In the accompanying four sheetsof drawings forming "a part of thisspecification, one illustrative embodiment FIG. 4 is an enlargedsectional view taken substantially centrally and vertically through aspinning table assembly constructed in accordance with the principles ofthe pres- FIG. Sis a sectional View taken substantially along the line55 of'FIG. 4' in the direction indicated by the arrows; i

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 ofFIG. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line 77 of FIG. 3 in the direction indicated by the arrows;and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 8-8 ofFIG. 7 in the direction indicated by the lar to FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusivethe mechanism disclosed in these views constitutes a part of thecomplete apparatus for producing sand molds shown and described in mycopending application Serial No. 15,285, above referred to, and itinvolves in its general organization a lift frame assembly which hasbeen designated-inits entirety at 10, and which has associated therewitha vertically shiftable lift and centering carriage 12. The carriage 12is movable between the lowered position wherein it is illustrated inFIG. 1 and the raised position wherein it is illustrated in FIG. 2. Thecarriage is movable and between these twoextreme positions under thecontrol of an hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 14.

The lift frame assembly 10 is operatively associated with a spinningtable assembly 16, the assemblies 10 and 15 being operatively disposedat a; rammingstation R.

The spinning table 16 is adapted operatively to receive patterncentering and pattern drawassembly which has been designated in itsentirety-at .26 and by means of which the upper end of a tubular mandrelor inner core pattern 23, which also isoperativ'ely seated upon'thespinning table 16 and is concentric with the tubular i flask 20, iscentered above the table. The flask 20 is provided with a pair of spacedmedial flanges 25 and 27 which serve as centering devices to facilitateflask-handling operations both at the ramming station and elsewhere inconnection with the transportation of empty flasksv to 3 the rammingstation and the removal of the filled flasks and molds from the rammingstation in accordance with the overall process of my copendingapplication above referred to.

After the completion of any given ramming operation, during movement ofthe carriage 12 from its lowered position to its elevated position, theflask Z is released but the inner core pattern 28 is retained by thecarriage so that in the elevated position in which it is shown in FIG.2, the pattern 28 remains suspended preparatory to its reuse during theramming of a new succeeding flask which is brought into operativeramming position at the ramming station.

The spinning table 16 at the ramming station R is mounted for rotationabout a vertical axis under the influence of a fluid motor assembly 30.The fluid motor assembly 30, and also the spinning table 16, constituteelements of a lower pattern draw and flask spinning mechanism 32, thismechanism further embodying hydraulic piston and cylinder assemblies 34by means of which the spinning table 16 may be moved between itselevated operative position and its lowered inoperative position whereina lower or hub pattern 36 carried thereby is withdrawn from the loweropen flanged end 13 of the flask 20.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive, a fragmentary portion of arotary flask and mold transfer and upending mechanism has been shown asbeing positioned adjacent the ramming station R, this mechanism beingdesignated in its entirety at 40. The mechanism 4% is disposed on theside of the spinning table 16 remote from the lift frame assembly 10.The mechanism 40' forms the subject matter of my copending applicationSerial No. 15,492, filed on March 16, 1960, for Rotary Flask andMold-Transfer and Upending Mechanism, now Patent 3,062,388, issued Nov.6, 1962. Reference may be had to such application for a fullunderstanding of the nature and operation of the mechanism but, forpurposes of description herein to show its operative association withthe flask ramming instrumentalities of the present invention, it issuflicient to state that the mechanism as is in the form of anoscillatory turret assembly 42 which is mounted for rotation in oppositedirections about a vertical axis on a stationary turret base 44.Projecting outwardly in opposite directions from the turret assembly 4 2are a pair of flask handling jaw assemblies or cradles, one of which hasbeen shown at 46, each assembly having associated therewith a pair ofreleasable flask-clamping jaws 50. The jaws 50 are movable between aclosed flask-clamping position and an open flask-releasing positionunder the control of a fluid operated actuator 52 in the form of apiston and cylinder assembly associated with the turret assembly 40.

The turret assembly 40 forms no part of the present invention, nor dothe jaw assemblies associated therewith, except insofar as these jawassemblies cooperate with the vertically shiftable spinning table 16 inmaintaining the successive flasks brought to the ramming station Rproperly oriented and in vertical register with the table above the samefor mold assembly operations as will be described subsequently. Theturret assembly 40 is adapted to be periodically indexed through anangle of 180 under the control of a fluid motor (not shown) and which isenclosed within the turret base 44. The two jaw assemblies 46 arerotatable about a common horizontal axis and they are capable of beingrotated in unison through an angle of 90 so that an empty flask 20 whichmay be deposited in the one of the jaw assemblies at a receiving stationon the side of the turret assembly remote from the spinning table 16 maybe upended and delivered to the ramming station R in a verticalposition, while at the same time, a flask 20 containing a mold which hasbeen spin-formed at the ramming station R may be received by the otherjaw assembly in a vertical position and, by a declining operation,delivered back to the receiving station. The upending and decliningoperations above referred to take place during indexing of the turret42. The present invention is not limited in its use to association withthe specific flask handling mechanism briefly outlined above since otherforms of flask handling mechanisms may be designed which willsuccessively position empty flasks at the ramming station in the properpositions of register with the spinning table and with the variouspattern applying and pattern withdrawing instrumentalities of thepresent invention and which are about to be described in detail.

The lift frame assembly 10 appears in FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive and itinvolves in its general organization a. supporting base 70' which may bebolted as at 72 or otherwise secured on the foundry floor 74 or othersupporting surface. Projecting vertically upwardly from the base 70 is acylindrical standard 76 of appreciable height. In the upper regions ofthe standard 76 there is provided a pair of diametrically disposed rails78 which extend vertically along the standard on opposite sides thereof.Gusset webs 80 are formed on the base 70 and lower regions of thestandard 76 for reinforcing purposes. The standard 76 has formed thereona pair of vertically spaced bosses 82 and 8d respectively. The boss 32serves to support thereon the lower end of an elongated verticallydisposed cylinder 86 which constitutes one of the principal elements ofthe previously mentioned piston and cylinder assembly 14. The upper endof the cylinder 36 is supported by the upper boss 84. A piston 88 isreciprocable in the cylinder 86 and has connected thereto a piston rodor plunger 90. The upper end of the plunger 90 is connected to thevertically shiftable lift and centering carriage 12. The opposite endregions of the cylinder 86 are provided with fluid ports 92 and 94respectively which may be operatively connected through respective fluidlines 96 and 98 to a suitable control valve (not shown) which may beeither manually operable or automatic and by means of which fluid underpressure is selectively applied to the ends of the cylinder for plungerextension and retraction purposes.

The vertically shiftable lift and centering carriage 12 may be in theform of a casting including a base portion 100 to which the upper end ofthe plunger 90 is attached. An arm 102 extends vertically upwardly fromthe base portion and has a laterally turned bifurcated end 164 whichstraddles the standard 76 and carries a pair of rollers 1% designed totravel on the respective rails 78. A hyperbolic roller M8 is carried ona pin 110 which extends across the bifurcations at the top of the arm102 and is adapted to bear against the outer surface of the standard'76. The carriage 12 is thus constrained to move tractionally along thestandard 76 under the influence of the piston 92 and plunger 90.

An arm 112 extends laterally and horizontally from the base portion 100of the carriage 12 and terminates in a central hub 114 from which thereextends radially outwardly a series of three spider arms 116. Each armcarries one of the centering rollers 22 of generally frustoconicaldesign, the various rollers being mounted On suspension pins 126 whichdepend from the outer ends of the respective arms 116. As will be setforth in greater details presently, the centering rollers are adapted,when the carriage 12 is in its lowermost position, to straddle thecircular flanged end of a flask 20 undergoing ramming at the rammingstation.

As best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the inner core pattern 28, whichhereinafter will be referred to as the mandrel, is in the form of acylindrical tubular member, the upper rim of which is recessed as at 122to provide a seat for a centering plate 124. A shaft 126 extendsupwardly from the central regions of the plate 124 and projects into acentral bore 123 which is formed in the hub 114- of the lift carriage12. The upper end of the shaft 126 is reduced as at and receivesthereover a lift collar 132. A bearing assembly 134 seats on the collar132 and a retention nut 136 is threadedly received on the exof thereduced"portion-130 of the shaft ii 126, ;w71 h e" underneathside'of thehub. 1-14 is recessed asat 138 to provide for aseal -assembly 140. Thebore 128, isiprovidedkwith. an, internal shoulder142 which underlies thejlift collar 132 and constitutes a lift shoulden-by means ofwhichthelrotatable mandrel 28 is ele- .vated and lowered .bodily as aunit jwiththe carriage .12. A cover plate l44 closes the upper end ofthe bore H1112 8,\andfis; removably held by screws 146 in positionoverqthe-"bore. f i

.Referringgnow to'FIGSo4 and wherein th'e details 3 of the spinningtable assembly 32 are best 'shown, the

lower end region ofajj1flask'20is1shown as being operatively positionedon thje upper surface148 of, the rotary i spinning table 16, the variousflasks being successively delivered to and removed from the tableby therotary n sr in the d upending -mechanism- 40. x The spinning table rmoffs. boasting including a tubular sleeve :portion 154froin the upperportion of which the table -proper 1 156iextends, radially outwardly.The sleeve pori on" 154 -is rrot'ata-bly supported by meansof upper andw lower bearing assemblies 157 and 159 respectively upon i .a verticallyshiftable butnon-rotatable pedestal 158. The lower end of which isprovided with a pedestal base 160. bas e -1 60-is bolted as :at 162 toacrosshead 164. A

cylindrical sheet met-al apron 1 66 depends from the peripheral regionsof the table proper '156 and serves to shieldth'e pedestal 154;;asWelles certain other instru- 1. f mentalitiesj associated with theassembly 32 and which will be described subsequently in detail.

. f- Referringnowadditionally to FIG 4, the, crosshead 164 extendsbetween'and servesff'to'operatively connect a pair' of verticallyreciprocable cylinder units 163, each unitlconstituting a principalcomponent of oneofthe previously mentioned piston and cylinderassemblies 34. 3 Each assembly 34 involves inits general organization 3w a cylinder proper 170,}the upper end of whichis secured i in thecrosshead 164 and the lower end of which is secured in acylin-der cap'172. The two cylinders 170 are vertically reciprocable in unison andthey are guidedin their below the piston 5176 respectively, by means offlexible fluid lines 178 and :180leading from a suitable control l ivalve (not shown) which, intu'rn, is operatively connected to asourceo-f fluid under pressure. The crosshead 164 and caps 172 areconnected together by tie rods 182.

The stationary piston rods174 have their lower ends reduced as at 184,and these reduced portions are suri roundedby bushings 186 which, inturn, are centered in pilot-blocks 1 88weldedas at 1'90 to a base plate192.

A cylindrical ,casingf194 is welded as at 195 to the base plate 192 and!projects upwardly and extends in telescopic fashion into the flower openrim 196 of the skirt 166.

An anchor ring 198 for the upper ends of the piston rods 174 is seat-edon the upper rim 200 of the casing 194 and is'formed with acentralopening 202 through which the. I I lower regionof the tubular sleeveportion 1540f the spinning table 16 is adapted to project. A pair ofbushings 2114 are mounted at diametrically disposed points on theanchorring 19,8"and receives therein the upper ends of the respective pistonrods 174. V

"The fluid motor 30 is of conventional design: and no claim is madeiherein to any novelty associated with the same. It is deemed ,suflicientforpu'rposes of disclosure and description herein to staterthatthe motor30 includes a cylindrical casing 210 having a rim flange 21zwhieh' isbolted as at 214 to the underneath side (new crosshead 164g; ,Intake andexhaust fluidlines are designated at 216 and :218respeetively and,-upon-admission of fluid to i i the casing 210, the output shaft 220 ofthe motor is caused toirotarte in the desireddirection. The motor shaft220 i sembly 22 2 to a shaft 224, the upper end of which is threadedasat226 and threadedly receives thereon an alignment cone 228 for centeringa pattern base member or hub pattern 230 on the table suriace 148.. Thehub pattern is provided with a contoured surface 232 of any desiredconfiguration; as for example, that of the lower .hu b or bell of ametal pipe section subsequently to be cast by a centrifugal castingprocess in the pipe molds undergoing formation by the present spinningapparatus. The hub. pattern is concentric with the circular table proper156 and, during flask spinning operations, the lower flanged end 18 ofthe flask 201's centered about the hub pattern1230 by'rnean-s ofcentering guides 234 (FIG. 5) disposed at equally spaced regions aroundthe peripheral regions of ,thetable proper 156.

Intheoperation of the presentapparatus, upon arrival of the jaw assembly50 at the ramming station, the axis of the flask 20 carried thereby willextend vertically and, as shown in FIG. 2, the flask will be maintainedin an elevated position above the level of the spinning table 16 Ywhich, all. that time, is in its lowermost position. The

lowerend of the mandrel 28 which is supported by the verticallyshiftable lift and cehteringcarriage 12 will assume an elevated positionabove the level of the upper end of theflask 20 with the mandrel 28poised, so to speak, :for subsequent descent into the flask. In thisposition of the flask 20, the axes of the spinning table, the

- flask and the mandrel are in verticalalignment.

With the flask 20 thus in its final position at the ramming station R,fluid is supplied through the fluid lines 178 to the ports 177associated with the hydraulic piston and cylinder assemblies 168. Theadmission of fluid to. the upper ends of thecylinders'17t) above thepistons 176 associated therewith will cause the previously loweredcylinders to become elevated to the'positionin which they appear in FIG.4. Such elevation of the cylinders 170 .will cause the crosshead 164 tobecome elevated and the latter, acting through the pedestal 158, willcause the spinning t-able16 to move into operative register with thelower flanged end 18 of the vertically disposed flask 20 carried by thejaw 50, the centering guides 234 serving to maintain the end 18 centeredupon the table proper-156.

Upon movement of the parts into such operative register, fluid underpressure is supplied to the port 94 through the fluid line 98 to drivethe piston 88 and its plunger 90 downwardly to effect lowering of thelift. carriage 12, and consequently of the mandrel 28. The mandrel isthus lowered into the upper end or" the flask 20 and the alignment: cone228 causes'the lower end of the mnadrel to become seated and centeredupon the hub pattern 239 as shown in FIG. 4. In this position of theparts, the upper flanged end 24 of the flask is centered-between thethree rollers 22 preparatory to initiation ofthe flask spinningoperation and charging of the mold cavity.

. During the spinning operation, a stationary sand slinger,

a fragment of which has been designated at 250, and which is ofconventional design, is adapted to deliver sand in the form of wads orsings to, the cavity which exists between the cylindrical wall of theflask 20 and the mandrel23. These wads are deliveredto the flask afterthe flask and 3 1 pattern have been properly positioned and'centeredupon the. upp r surface of the table proper and while the table is'being rotated under the influence of the fluid motor-39. The seed ofrotation of the flask 20' will control the density of the sandmoldformed in the flask as is well known intheart.

In order to initiate spinning operations, fluid'is admitted to thehydraulic motor 30 through the intake fluidline 216, the output shaft220 serving to drive the spinning table 16 through the coupling assembly222 and a shaft 224. Weds V of sandare fed to the flask from the slinger250 in the manner'previously described and, after the sand mold has beenformed, spinning operations are terminated and fluid is supplied to theport 92 of the piston and cylinder as embly 14 through the fluid line 96to cause the carriage 12 to be elevated. Elevation of the carriage 12causes the mandrel 28 to be raised, thus effecting the upper patterndraw operation. Sirnliarly, fluid is supplied to the ports 17 9 of thepiston and cylinder assemblies 168 through the fluid lines 186 to lowerthe cylinders proper 170 and crosshead 164, thus lowering the spinningtable 16 and effecting the lower pattern draw operation to free theflask with the mold contained therein for subsequent conduction by thejaw 56 of the transfer mechanism away from the ramming station.

The invention is n-ot'to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as theinvention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claim isthe same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A spinning table assembly comprising in combination a fixed base plate,a pair of spaced piston rods extending vertically upwardly from saidbase plate, a piston on each rod medially thereof, a cylinder mountedfor vertical reciprocation on each rod and encompassing the pistonthereon, a crosshead extending between said cylinders and movable bodilywith the cyhnders as a unit, an elongated pedestal mounted on thecrosshead and projecting vertically upwardly therefrom, a spinning tablerotatably mounted on the pedestal for rotational movements aboutavertical axis, said spinning table including a horizontal circulartable portion and a depending sleeve portion, said sleeve portionencompassing the pedestal, anti-friction bearings interposed between thesleeve portion of the table and the pedestal adjacent the upper andlower ends of the latter respectively, a base pattern reniovablydisposed on the spinning table, said spinning table being movablebetween a raised position where-in the base pattern thereon is adaptedto be projected into the lower open end of a vertically disposed flasksupported above the spinning table, and a lowered position wherein thebase pattern is withdrawn from the flask, a motor mounted on thecrosshead beneath the same for movement bodily therewith, said motorhaving a drive shaft projecting upwardly through the cross'head andpedestal, means establishing adriving connection between the upper endof the drive shaft and the spinning table, and means for selectivelysupplying motive fluid simultaneously to the upper ends and to the lowerends of said cylinders, respectively, to eflect vertical movementsthereof'and consequent vertical movements of the crosshead, pedestal andspinning table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS349,461 Shickle Sept. 21, 1886 1,544,062 Dirnick June 30, 1925 1,684,858Buente Sept. 18, 1928 2,875,482 Hamilton et al. Mar. 3, 1959

